Building a Raised Sleeper Pond - The Ultimate DIY Garden Project!

[@kittensarenaughty]

This is one of the best pond builds ever! Thank you for showing us The Way 😁

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks for watching

[@chrissyosborne3879]

This pond is absolutely beautiful.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thankyou

[@thomasassim-ita1787]

This is one of the best pond build on YT very well made and easy to do

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks for the high praise.

[@stevedowdeswell139]

Screwing the pots to the side is great idea. Cheers.

[@flybobbie1449]

What a lovely simple but effective pond. Much classier than a preformed pond loosed into the ground and much safer with kiddies around.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Yes I have a 2 year old. Much safer.

[@cassandrasmith5517]

What an awesome pond build! Very simple design but great look! All of the plants and fish are thriving! Thanks for sharing ❤

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thankyou for watching

[@petelongrs]

Nice job mate 👍

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Cheers mate

[@maryglover8283]

Beautiful and I love your plants and fish!🩷

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thankyou

[@simoncameron667]

Thank you so much for posting this video. I’m stuck at the planning stage atm having just finished decking ,slabbing etc. You have given me the confidence to crack on now - absolutely beautiful result mate - I love the plants!!

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Glad I could help. I'm not sure if you already have a pond or this is your first pond. Once you build one and keep fish it can be addictive. A lot of people build a pond then want more fish which means bigger. I would try and make it as big as you can to start.

[@davidnash1220]

I think that really is a jolly good job I think it looks great 👍

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks

[@SeanOBrien27]

Great job and well-explained - I'm building one very similar over the next few days, your video is beneficial (thanks)

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Hope it goes smoothly mate.

[@new-beginnings-fishing]

Im just getting ready to build one in mine so thank you very much well explained wow its looks amazing well done

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Hope it goes well. See your a fisherman. Same here.

[@rmigofun]

Easy, tidy, beautiful and natrual pond, it looks not a container on the ground but a big aquarium.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks for watching.

[@janetravelqueen3033]

Brilliant job! Well done! We're about to start building ours.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Good, hope it goes well.

[@raymondmichielini6021]

really nice looks great

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@SaifKhan-iy7tn]

Simply Beautifull

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Cheers mate. Thanks for watching.

[@yoyoma-ib4hk]

this is a nice build. I really enjoyed the video

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks

[@doriannemosich232]

You are inspiring great minds think a like.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks for wstching

[@nmoosa100]

Great video!

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thankyou for watching.

[@martincox8250]

Great job. Very smart. 😊

[@Eng.Civil.Mohammad]

Awesome 👏🏼

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks 😁

[@Jay9595]

Really enjoyed this video mate. Keep em coming if you can. Subscribed

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Glad you enjoyed it. I try. Very new to this recording and editing business.

[@JonahX-ui9tf]

Nice work

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks

[@KwanaMitchelllovesatlhomes]

Awesome job

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Cheers mate.

[@NelsonEasler]

VERY nice. If I ever get a chance, I plan on building a sleeper pond. Some things I would do(just because I'm me) that may be it's overkill. This is NOT to say anything he did was incorrect. I've never built one & would use his video as a guideline. The things listed below are from watching other KZbin videos of people building sleeper ponds. 1. Once drilling the pilot holes, go back with a little larger bit, & drill about 1/2 inch. That way the head of the screws will be countersunk. 2. I would put bolts/screws in 2nd & 3rd row to screw them to the row below to make them a little stronger. 3. Use rebar(maybe overkill but again, that's me) to stop any flexing of the walls when they are filled. This might not be an issue on smaller ponds but I think if you went over 12 ft.(3.65 meters), you "might" have some flex. Of course, by doing step 2, it could make rebar not necessary. a. Drill about halfway through first row. Make a straight line across the top of 1st row going through the middle of the hole as close as you can. Then make another straight line going down the inside wall so you can line up upper rows. You can drill all the way through the 2nd row & line up with hole in 1st row. Again, drill a slightly larger hole so when hammering the rebar in, it would allow for an small discrepancies. Repeat for the rows after the 2nd row. I would also put rebar in the corners. After all holes are drilled, get a vacuum & suck up any sawdust that might have settled in the bottom. NOTE: If using rebar, take a small dowel rod that will fit in the holes(MAKE sure you can pull it out) to see exactly how deep each hole is. If you have discrepancies between the depths of the hole, have the rebar cut a little shorter than the average depth of the holes. Example: Lets say you put 12 pieces of rebar in(3 per side). You measure & the depths range from 35 - 36 inches. Have the rebar cut 35 to 35.5 inches. After you've hammered it in as far as you can, take a small piece of rebar, tap it down farther. BTW, one video I was instead of rebar, the person used wooden rods about 2 inches thick instead of rebar. Using the wooden rods, you hammer it in as far as you can & the trim the excess flush with the top row. While using wooden rods, the person would file down the bottom to look like this - \_/ - that will be going in. He did this because when he was hammering one in without that, it caught(because the holes were off too much & he couldn't get it to go all the way in. Again, I really liked this video & was impressed by how well he explained everything & the final result.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Yes I agree with everything you say. Every pond build you make choices. This build was a cheap as possible and only really built to get me through 5 years. If money is no option and you are going bigger or really want it to last a very long time I would take many of the measures mentioned. Best thing is watch as any builds as you can. Decide what you want and do your own thing.

[@mosuhu]

I love the simplicity of how you went about creating this beautiful pond. No over complicated expensive bits of equipment, quite refreshing really. I'm just about to get my first pond going and it's only about a 1/4 the size of yours... My only question is do you do anything during the winter period to protect or just leave it be?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

The only thing I do is heat the pond as there are fancy goldfish and they don't like it getting too cold. Otherwise just the normal maintenance getting any dead leaves and plant matter out. I have a similar bigger pond with some koi and common goldfish. That's just left. I don't cover them or insulate them. I've not had issues with herons though.

[@mosuhu]

@@alexisthisreal5488 thanks, I have fancy goldfish but they're indoors, I plan to keep common goldfish like reds and yellow etc in this one, and don't plan to heat or cover. Never seen herons in my area so hope I don't have that issue. I like the koi pond you've done too. Nice! Love all the plants.

[@raygiannamore]

What a nice job

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks

[@DarrenGroves]

Great video thank you. Im about to do this myself. What liner did you use?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Sorry I can't recall which one. It was on cheaper end. 4x4 and I think I paid about £60 pound for it. Could have been pvc liner. Butyl liners are better and I found easier to work with. Depends on your budget though mate.

[@DarrenGroves]

@alexisthisreal5488 thanks for getting back to me. Watched a lot of your videos last night. All were really good and easy to understand for someone like myself who is new to it so thank you and keep them coming

[@jonandlisa2000]

Love this

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks mate.

[@petelongrs]

Water hawthorn? Nice.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks mate. Yes water Hawthorn.

[@allkindsofoutdooractivities]

Very nice

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Thanks mate

[@allkindsofoutdooractivities]

@@alexisthisreal5488 you are very welcome!

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

Pond is GORGEOUS However, if I built anything of this size with water in my yard, my kids would demand it be a pool

[@DaDunge]

If you built it big enough it could be both, so long as there is enough room for the fish to hide.

[@Aquarium_hobby841]

How do you make your plant pots hang to the side mate it looks good

[@alexisthisreal5488]

The decking that sits on top of sleepers overhangs about 10mm. The top of basket I just put 2 screws through the plastic and screw into decking so top of plastic pot is in line with top of decking. The pot hangs and leans against inside of pond sleeper at a slight angle. As plant is in water not to much weight and weight pivots towards pond wall. Done this with both ponds. Larger one has plants in there that are 4 years old and large. Seems to work. Not had any fall off. Get screws that are not prone to rust as will be in damp environment.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Sorry I think I misunderstood question. That plant hanging over side just does it naturally. I don't do anything with it. Does same thing on all 3 ponds I built as long as you attach to edge of pond.

[@zakiikaz1753]

​@alexisthisreal5488 this is exactly what i need to know. A video tutorial will be much appreciated

[@doug2651]

Absolutely stunning mate! have done something similar but your idea of attaching pots to the side is definitely one I'm going to use! How do you stop the fish eating the lilies?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

My fish don't seem to eat them on either pond. They dig around in pots. I try to put some bigger stones in pots but not restricted lilies growing.

[@doug2651]

@@alexisthisreal5488 amazing thanks for the reply. The ones you screw into the side. Do the pots not split and fall into the pond? Are they not too heavy with the stones in?

[@ChrisWall-hy2bx]

looks good could you clarify what sleeper size width and depth and also are they softwood ? cheers

[@alexisthisreal5488]

@@ChrisWall-hy2bx Incised Treated UC4 Sleeper Green 100 x 200mm x 2.4m Travis Perkins

[@ChrisWall-hy2bx]

@@alexisthisreal5488 thanks

[@LS-td3dz]

That looks great. And like you said it saves so much work not having to dig out and get rid of the soil. Just a question, where did you get the sleepers?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Sleepers are from travis perkins light green. About £22 when I got them.

[@sprre3899]

Nice pond you have there. I helped me mate build a pond a few years ago. It’s was a nice pond but he had a nightmare with Herons taking his fish so now it’s permanently covered with net which doesn’t look great.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Luckily I haven't had many issues. It's not great when you have to use a net. Looks awful. But those herons are like the terminator they just keep coming.

[@sprre3899]

@@alexisthisreal5488 Yes your right, they never forget where a pond is. Mirrors don’t work and fake Herons and owls don’t work. It’s huge too lol.

[@aquahobby1982]

Beautiful...... if possible can u plz share a cost breakdown of this pond ?? I think those sleepers r preety costly. Also how long does it took to cut them into proper size. I believe this is where most of the efforts r spent.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

The sleepers were 200mm x 100mm x 2.4 m. At £22 each. Had to buy 12 of them. This was by far biggest expense. At around £270. I cut 6 at 1500mm and 6 at 1700mm as I did not overlap sleepers. It was hard work with a handsaw but cn be done. The 4 bits of decking on top only come to £32. Liner was a 4 x 4 m. It was a cheap one I didn't spend a lot. Think it was £55. Gravel 4 bags total £25. Hex screws were £20. Total £400. Pump and filter I already had. Along with plants. Pump is 3000 litre an hour. That cost around £70. 100 litre water butt, alfagrog, gravel, accessories for filter was probably £140 all in. Plants cost me £8 each in 1 litre pots. All in everything was probably £600-650. That's not taking into account any electrical. I'm electrician so do that all myself.

[@aquahobby1982]

@@alexisthisreal5488 thanks a ton for the details .....

[@flybobbie1449]

@@aquahobby1982 £600 is nothing these days for something you get years of enjoyment out of. And kids build memories of things like this.

[@ThearanumkhCustombike]

I want build pond too you for my fish😍

[@kovenant7]

I have a 900 gal pond with a filter. Few plants are living but most have died off its been 4 months now I thought it would've cycled. I added one bottle of fertilizer to ratio but didn't help. So you have any tips on adding some type of liquids to help? The fish bred and made loads of fry recently so they will provide some nitrates I guess.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

How many fish did you put in to start and how big? What sorts of plants are they? They in right depth of water for plant type? Getting enough sun? Pond in shade?

[@kovenant7]

@alexisthisreal5488 in the beginning I only added 5 mature swordtails which is not hardly any to produce nitrates. It's in full shade must of the day. Very little sun I think that's the main problem but I want to find out if a right bskance of ph and nitrates is a benefit. It's it common that they are store bought in bottles and added to the pond? I think I may have to cut the many limbs that are above.

[@fallenryuu8739]

beautiful pond but i was thinking wouldnt it be good to have an overflow drain hole so if it rains a ton the fish wont escape from overflowing and keep the pond at a nice water level

[@alexisthisreal5488]

I had an overflow on original sleeper pond and the water level was lower you could see liner. I didn't like it. I filled it in temp to see how it would go without one. Never had any issues. It tends to overflow evenly around pond under top decking. I kept an eye on it to check if water was getting behind liner. Never had fish get out. It doesn't seem to ever overflow over top of decking. It's what ever suits you. I'm new to this and adapt where I see an issue. They are very basic. As for water level I like it as high as possible. That's my preference. Not had issues with koi jumping out but I know you can.

[@Stavrosmct]

What size liner did you use for this? Still confused how you measure the correct size! Looks great, might give it a go.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

4m x 4m mate. That gave plenty either side you can get away with smaller though if your careful. 1.5 m + 0.6 m for both sides is 2.7 m . So you could get away 3.5 m x 3.5 if they cut it for you to size.

[@jamespalmer3716]

ive asked a ? in 1 of your other videos.. just wondering with you being an electrician what would you charge to fit an outside power source

[@alexisthisreal5488]

It depends on length of run. If there is already a power source in garden you can run off. More difficult if you have to run from fuseboard in house. To be honest I still not sorted that pond out properly. On extension lead 😩. Having experienced faulty pumps and heaters tripping electrics and causing everything to turn off I believe the best way is to have multiple rcds and setting it up so if say a pump fails and trips rcd you have second pump or airstones on separate rcd so you don't have total failure across your Pond. This is obviously more involved but safer for your Pond and fish.

[@rachelburnell9532]

Nice 👍 what pond liner did you use mate?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Sorry I can't recall make. Was on the cheaper side. 4x4 cost around £60 I believe.

[@tonycross4451]

I'd of over lapped the joints like brick work to make it stronger

[@LukeJorgensen-k2w]

Who asked

[@tonycross4451]

@@LukeJorgensen-k2w no one who invited you to comment on my reply ?

[@CemZiya]

You’re right though. I just built a pond and overlapped them. It’s how any sleepers should be laid when raising the height and gives extra strength 👍🏽

[@jamespalmer3716]

great job mate what was the price of the sleepers

[@alexisthisreal5488]

I got sleepers from travis perkins. I get a little discount because of trade. But I think they are about £22. You gotta pick the better ones out though as most are poor quality.

[@neilwhitehead166]

Lovely pond but if you had staggered the joints it would be a lot stronger.

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Yes I agree staggering joints is stronger and I think advisable if you have bigger volume of water and going higher with sleepers. I prefer the look of how I did it and didn't feel pond volume was large enough to require staggered joints. This was a personal choice and your right it is advisable to stagger.

[@BWu-cl5sk]

What will u do for the freezing winter?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

The fancy goldfish have been outside for 4 years now. The old pond was heated over winter. So will this one.

[@oscardean6351]

It’s a very simple build for someone lazy like me, but how much did it cost to build please mate? As I am on a budget 👍☹️

[@alexisthisreal5488]

I think I did a breakdown on one of other messages. Pond Build I think was around £500 biggest cost is the sleepers. Which was around £270.

[@gregmaxwell15]

Do you screw the pond plants so the pots sit in the water?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

Yes just 2 screws through plastic pot near top of pot straight into decking strip that sits on top of sleepers.

[@gdreezen]

what do you do with the fish in the winter?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

They stay outside. The pond is heated in winter.

[@DaDunge]

How big would it need to be not to need a pump?

[@alexisthisreal5488]

The pump is for filtering purposes. You don't need one but without a pump and Filter you have to be careful with amount of fish you add. It has to balance naturally.

[@flybobbie1449]

@@alexisthisreal5488 For years in 70's we had a 4x6x3 foot deep pond with 4-5 fish. Never had pump, just plants. We changed water couple of times a year. But fish all went over 2 days, cat or bird had them around 10 year mark.

[@new-beginnings-fishing]

Its a sub from me

[@ellbambinopatron]

Subtítulos en español, por favor.